Monday, April 21, 2008
Labor leader launches autobiography
LABOR leader and trade unionist Democrito T. Mendoza has launched his autobiography detailing his contributions in fighting for the Filipino workers’ rights and defending the country against Japanese invaders during World War II.
Mendoza, 84, is chairman of the Oriental Port and Allied Services Corp. (Opascor), a Cebu port stevedoring company, and heads the Associated Labor Union-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP).
In his book “Shapes of Memory,” Mendoza said the war forced him into manhood, and the labor front pushed him to a commitment that shaped his life’s mission.
He said he has walked and talked with presidents, and was even offered positions of power and influence, which he refused.
Challenges
In his speech during the book’s launching at the Marco Polo Plaza hotel, Mendoza said he decided to write the details of his life to encourage young people to face challenges and be ready to risk everything to achieve a better life.
“I hope that with this book, I can inspire others in coming up with the idea that little things can lead you to big events that could make history,” he said.
Historian Resil B. Mojares was happy with the book’s publication saying Cebuanos do not have too many memoirs and autobiographies, “maybe because we are not a writing people.”
“That is unfortunate. Since people do not leave behind written accounts of their lives, we miss out on a lot of the personal, human details of how larger histories are made,” he said.
It is in this context, Mojares said, that Cebuanos should welcome the publication of Mendoza’s personal account of his life.
Lawyer Tomas A. Riveral, Opascor president and general manager, said Mendoza is a visionary, as evidenced in the establishment of Opascor, the biggest cargo-handling service provider outside Manila.
Riveral said it was Mendoza who negotiated for the conversion of the then government-owned National Arrastre and Stevedoring Corp. into a workers’ enterprise, starting with a P12 million capital that ballooned to billions of pesos in assets.
Influential
Riveral said that as labor leader, Mendoza did not leave the workers in times of crisis.
“He is always there to protect the rights of the workers,” he said.
Former senator Ernesto Herrera, who was present in the book’s launching, described Mendoza as a very influential labor leader. He said presidents, from then president Ferdinand Marcos to President Arroyo consult with Mendoza on important issues.
“He has done a lot of things for the workers,” said Jessielou Cadungog, Opascor director.
Cadungog, who is also the Tejero, Cebu City barangay captain, said Mendoza was the one who influenced then president Fidel V. Ramos to repeal Executive Order (EO) No. 212 issued in 1996.
EO 212 directed the country’s port authorities to liberalize services at the ports.
Cadungog, said the law was considered detrimental to the interest of labor. (EOB)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (April 21, 2008 issue)
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